The Dead Sea Cosmetics concern, better know by its brand name
“Ahava,” is located within the Mizpe Shalem settlement.
The business is the best known Israeli enterprise that uses the
plentiful black mud on the shores of the Dead Sea to manufacture
a variety of products. The mud has a rare high concentration of
minerals – magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potash, which
soak up water and maintain a liquid state, becoming a natural
moisturizer. Throughout history, this natural mud has been thought
to contain almost mystic therapeutic qualities, especially for
persons with skin and joint ailments. The enterprise praises itself,
on its website, as “the only cosmetics firm in its natural
environment,” and, therefore, it protects the environment,
“only taking what it requires, and enabling Nature to effortlessly
replenish itself.”162

The company was founded in 1988. It is owned by the Mizpe Shalem
and Qalya settlements and Israeli firms controlled by Gaon Holdings.
The company does not provide figures on its sales turnover, the
number of employees, or exports, but a press report valued the
company in 2008 at $72 million. The report stated the company
had 200 employees and operated a chain of shops marketing the
“Ahava” brand in 29 countries.163 Tourists on their
way to tourist sites in the area stop by to visit the company's
visitors center. More...